Uncut (Unexpected Book 4) (53 page)

Matt is like a magic carpet that flies me to some kind of paradise where everything is possible. That even if it looks stormy now, the clouds will clear and the sun will shine. He’s my sun.

“What the hell happened to Thea? Baby, are you okay?” I hear Coop’s voice, but I don’t see him. Nor do I have the energy to acknowledge him at the moment. “Matthew?”

I close my eyes pretending I’m asleep.

“Sunburn. She was too busy working and forgot the sunscreen.” He pushes himself off the bed. “Where were you?”

“Out, taking my sister to a hotel.” I remain calm, not moving one centimeter because I don’t want to face him at all. He’s annoyed. His long, hard exhale can be heard throughout the entire room. “Victoria came too.”

I hear another squeeze of aloe, and a hand gliding up and down my back with soothing strokes. “Fuck, I wish I had been here.” Tristan kisses my neck. “All the butterflies are burning.”

“Coop, why the hell did you leave her?” Matt growls.

“Fuck, I texted her to explain. Thea is mad, isn’t she?” I don’t hear a response, but he continues speaking. “I had to get my sister and Victoria away from her. Fey is a vicious bitch who if let loose, could do a lot of damage. They caught us in the pool, and not swimming. I had to take them away. Believe me, I wouldn’t leave her intentionally. Never. Only to protect her, I swear.”

He huffs. “Matt, Fey’s already planning my funeral. Why let her stab the one person I love the most because she’s in need of blood? Fey had made it clear. Unless I give her enough money to fly away for a year, she won’t get off my case. She’s a nut case; what would you have done, Matt?”

“Fine, you have a point there, Coop.”

“Her back is boiling.” Coop kisses my ear and whispers, “Are you going to keep pretending to be asleep, baby?” I don’t move. “Thea, you’re my most valued treasure. I’d give up everything for you—I’d give up my life if necessary. If I don’t protect you, she’ll try to destroy you.”

I open my eyes and find his tender green eyes pleading for me to forgive him.

“Why do you think I’m weak?” I scrunch my nose and flinch, as even my face is burning. “Yes, months ago I’d agree with that. Not today. Two thousand, one hundred seventy-one. That’s almost six years I won’t waste because of her. You need to trust me and . . . not sure. Every time your family is involved it’s as if you’re ashamed of us, Coop.”

Our gazes connect and his eyes transmit only love. “Trust me, Thea. You both are everything to me. My family knows I’m dating you both.” He stands up and walks around the room. “Scott, my assistant, knows too. It’s a slow process, so can you please trust me, baby? Give me a little more time to work it here.” He touches his temple.

Matt clears his throat. I push myself from the bed because I want to know what the hell is going to happen.

“You think it’s easy?” Tristan stares at Matthew, his chest puffed and his jaw tightened. “How are we going to handle it in public? Three?”

“There’s nothing to handle, Coop.” Matt touches my hand, kissing it. “It’ll be on a need-to-know basis. If I introduce you as my boyfriend and Thea as my girlfriend, you just don’t freak out. We’ll have to play it by ear, babe.”

“Kids?” I blurt out, taking part of this impromptu Q&A.

“She wants them, and I want them. How about you, Coop?”

“How are we handling the paternity of those children?” Tristan counters. “Or who is marrying her?” He points at me. “Why her and not us? Either one of us can choose and marry the other, but not the three. Is that fair?”

“We don’t have to handle paternities. I want your kids to be mine and vice versa, Coop.” Matt takes a deep breath, tapping the right side of his chest. “We’ll figure that out as time goes.”

“Then let me continue figuring this out without the fucking pressure. I’m taking strides; you’re just not looking closely enough, Matthew.”

My biggest fear has always been to fall back into the past. Continue being the person who couldn’t control her life. Today that has shifted. My fear is that one day one of us will walk away, or the three of us will take separate roads and never look back.

“You two are the greatest thing that ever happened to my life,” I say, walking to Matt and holding his hand, then reaching for Tristan’s. “I love you both and in my heart I believe we belong together. If tomorrow comes and everything changes, always remember that no matter where I am or who you are, my heart will never stop being yours.”

“Where are you going, Butterfly?” Matt questions as I release their hands.

“Sleep; tomorrow I have a plane to catch. Don’t forget this weekend we have to talk about me.” I kiss them both, then look at Matt. “He’s not his family, and I’m not my family. Never forget that.”

I
t’s Tuesday, almost midnight, and I start getting my shit ready to head home. There’s no point staying here when the bar is only half-full and my manager has everything under control. I’d rather head home and spend the night with my boyfriend, where we can videoconference with Thea, who is most likely working on her jewelry. Some days I believe she likes to have a couple nights to herself, just to stay awake late and work with her art. My eyes divert to the picture I have on my desk of her building a snowman. Last Christmas we spent time with the entire Colthurst family and she played with the kids almost all week.

Kids.

The biggest uncertainty I have about our future. So many questions. Would we confuse the hell out of them? Would they get made fun of at school for having two dads? Matt gets angry when I doubt the relationship, but I swear he doesn’t think about the future like I do. Our babies. What kind of a life would a kid have? One look at Thea’s loving smile, and I have just one answer: They’d have the best mother any man could give to his children. But is that enough? I suppose they are the same doubts and concerns most relationships face, but in our case, they hurt our relationship. Because they draw on my many insecurities. But I only want the best for her. For us.

My phone rings as I turn off my computer. Mother. I let it go to voice mail. Her frantic voice mails since I told her that Matthew and I are dating drain me. She leaves me the numbers of several counselors who can help me with my “problem.” Promises that if I marry Victoria, God will forgive me. Father Andrew himself called urging me to straighten up my life, to obey my parents. Like I've done before, I let the calls go to voice mail. There’s nothing to say. Nothing in this world will take me away from Matt and Thea.

As I step out of my office and lock it, my phone buzzes. It’s Lucas, my brother.

Lucas: Call me, it’s an emergency.

“What’s going on?” I ask as he answers the phone.

“The hospital called. Father is in the ER,” he answers. “We need you, as according to the lawyers, you’re the only one allowed to handle his business.”

He’s not making sense. What do lawyers have to do with the hospital. “Lawyers? What business? What happened?”

“He had a heart attack. I’ll explain more when you arrive.”

“You’re the doctor, not me.” I remind him that he’s needed there. “Keep me informed until I can fly to Hartford, maybe tomorrow or . . . later.”

“We need you here, Tristan,” he repeats. “He’s filing for bankruptcy; the lawyer needs you while he’s indisposed—or if he doesn’t make it . . . Plus, this is your fault. He begged you to change and instead, you went public. We need you now.”

What the fuck is he talking about? Heart attack? Bankruptcy? I went public? I run a hand through my hair. Fuck. My father is in the hospital. The kid in me, that obedient boy who always did what was expected of him, calls Mason Bradley to make plans for Connecticut as soon as fucking possible. Maybe after this I’ll close that entire chapter and leave my family behind for good.

Tristan: Thea, Matt, I'm flying to Hartford. My father had a heart attack and my family didn’t give me too many details about it.

My phone rings immediately. “Sorry to hear that, babe. Do you want me to go with you?”

His voice loosens the knots of tension forming on my back. “No, I’ll call you as soon as I know what’s going on with him.” There’s a click sound on my phone. I check it and Thea is calling me too. I connect her call with ours. “Butterfly?”

“Coop, I just read your text. Do you want me to go with you?”

Matt laughs on the other line. “He said no. How are you, baby?”

“Worried,” she answers. “Are you sure you don’t want us to go with you? I don’t want you to face this alone.”

“Yes, I'm sure. I love you, baby. Once I find out what’s going on and make sure everything is under control, I’ll head back home.”

“Okay, but promise me that you'll call if you need us.” That sweetness is all I needed to head back home.

“I swear.”

“I love you too. Mattie, call me later.”

“You got it, Butterfly. Love you, Coop. Call us at any time. I’m heading to Seattle tomorrow morning. Thea and I can head to Hartford whenever you want.”

“Thank you. And I love you too, Matt.”

My stomach drops to the floor the moment I step outside the plane and step foot outside the gate. Mason stands only a few feet away with his usual
I am going to kill you
glare. My brother-in-law and I are best friends. We have a lot of interests in common and we like to spend our time playing video games. We don’t have heart-to-heart conversations, but we know each other pretty well. Well enough to know that if he’s here, there’s some shitty emergency going on.